The guiding principle of any Board of Directors Meeting is that it is an effective conversation which follows a procedure and stays on track. If you want to make a proposal for action in such a meeting, you will need to stay within these guidelines to make your voice heard and to have your proposal taken seriously, no matter its quality. This proposal for action is called "Making a Motion," and there is a formal method for putting it on the table. These steps will walk you through exactly how to do that.

Steps

Part 1

Know What Your Organization Requires

1

Know the rules. Not all organizations use exactly the same rules or require the same level of formality. If your organization maintains written documentation on its preferred method for making a motion, read it carefully.

2

Learn by example. Observe how other members of your organization make formal motions during meetings.

Part 2

Plan Your Motion

1

Your motion should be specific, unique, and concise. Include all the relevant details and none of the irrelevant ones. Be unambiguous, and leave as little room for interpretation as possible.

2

Make Preparations. Not everyone can construct motion like this entirely in their head, and there is nothing wrong with this. If necessary, draft your motion in writing beforehand and carefully consider its delivery.

3

Consider your delivery. Individual words count in situations like these, and the effective delivery of an idea can make all the difference in how that idea is perceived and understood.

4

Open your motion with "I move..." You can try saying "I move to..." or "I move that..." This is the equivalent of saying "I propose."

Part 3

Make Your Motion

Obtain the floor. Before making your motion, it is necessary for you to obtain the floor, and be recognized by the presiding officer. If you making your motion without completing this step, it is much less likely to be taken seriously.

Wait until the floor has been yielded or is otherwise made available.

Address the presiding officer by their formal title, such as "President," "Chairman," or "Moderator." Address men as "Mr." and women (married or unmarried) as "Madam."

2

Make Your Motion. This is the moment of truth, but if you have planned and/or practiced your delivery (or had your afternoon coffee), it will be a breeze.

Do not forget to start with "I move..."

Address your motion to the entire Board, not just the presiding officer.

Make no more than one motion at a time.

3

Wait for your motion to be seconded. With few exceptions, all motions must be seconded by another member of the Board. This is to ensure that the Board does not spend time evaluating a proposal which only one member favors, and it's why effective delivery is so crucial.

In a formal setting, they will say something along the lines of "I second the motion," or even just "I second."

In certain cases, such as when a general consensus is apparent, the presiding officer can choose to skip this step and move on to the next one.

4

Allow the presiding officer to state the question. Once your motion is seconded, the presiding officer will re-state it. This is called "stating the question."

Until the presiding officer does this, your motion is not formally up for the Board's consideration.

5

Engage in the debate. Once the presiding officer has stated the question, the Board can debate it. Typically, only one member can speak on the question at any given time, and they can only speak twice if there is no other member who has not yet spoken who would like to speak.

You can participate in the debate.

Other members may make secondary motions to amend the primary motion.

6

Vote. Once the debate has run its course, the presiding officer will ask who is in favor of the motion and count the affirmative votes.

Unless the number of affirmative votes indicates an even split in the Board, the presiding officer will typically not request negative votes.

7

Allow the presiding officer to state the result of the vote. The presiding officer will announce the result, instruct the corresponding officer or member to take action, and introduce the next item of business.

Can those making and seconding a motion at a general meeting be preselected?

wikiHow Contributor

It is not necessary or even usual for a motion's proposer and seconder to be preselected. The chair calls for motions and if two or more people seek to be recognized, the chair rightly chooses one or the other, a motion is then made and a seconder is usually the first person recognized by the chair to have seconded the motion.